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Water Treatment Plant Information

The Town’s public drinking water supply is drawn entirely from the Charles River Basin through four gravel packed groundwater wells. The wells are located in two separate sub-basins within the Charles River Basin (Bogastow Brook sub-basin and Charles Chicken Brook to Top River sub-basin.  Historically the town controls iron and manganese levels in the water supply with polyorthophosphate. This approach has been effective for the control of iron and manganese at the Populatic St., Village St., and Industrial Rd. wells. It has not been effective with the Oakland St. well since levels of iron and manganese are regularly in excess of 1.0 mg/l. To ensure sufficient water supply to the community at acceptable treatment levels the town has embarked on the design and construction of a Centralized DPW Water Treatment Plant for the Populatic St., Village St. and Oakland St. wells. After researching potential sites for the DPW WTP the town chose the Populatic St. well site as the only advantageous site for the facility.  The DPW WTP will replace existing operations and maintenance buildings beyond their useful life and provide needed treatment for all three water supplies.

The project will include:

  • Water Treatment Processes for iron and manganese, disinfection and future removal capabilities for PFAS removal.
  • Operations and Administrative Space for WTP operations staff and maintenance workshops
  • Storage for protection of Water Department operations vehicles to extend life expectancy.

The Populatic Water Treatment Plant will provide treatment for 3 of the Town’s 4 well sites: Populatic St. Well #1, Oakland St. Well #2 and Village St. Well #5. The Town recently completed the first phase of project work with the installation of  transmission mains to bring raw water from Oakland St. Well and Village St. Well to the Populatic St. well site where water will be treated. The WTP will provide iron and manganese treatment, disinfection and ability to remove PFAS6 if detected in the future. In addition the facility will provide much needed, water vehicle storage, WTP operations facilities including a laboratory and space for 8 to 14 water department operations and maintenance staff.

The Town chose an Owner’s Project Manager, Environmental Partners, to oversee the design, construction and start-up of the facility on behalf of the Town. To date the EP has conducted the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection – Drinking Water (MassDEP) required Pilot Plant Study and prepared conceptual layout alternatives for the facility. The Town is currently conducting the Qualification Based Selection for the Designer of the project.  The Pilot Plant operations  began on July 16, 2020 and were completed on August 6, 2020. Final acceptance of the water treatment regime was provided by MassDEP on November 10, 2020.